Loony Luna
by Slytherin Cat
Summary: A collection of drabbles, one-shots and just about anything that come to my mind when I think about our favorite crazy Ravenclaw. (Probably a lot of Harry/Luna, cause I just love it, but maybe other couples too :p)
1. Introducing: Luna Lovegood

This drabble is written for the Miss Leaky Cauldron 2012 on the HPFC. This is my first drabble, so I hope you'll like it :)

**Introducing: Luna Lovegood**

"Hello"

The red haired girl I approached lifted her head and stared bewildered at me. I think I shocked her. A shame. Mum always told me to be more 'gentle' when speaking with people but I don't think she understand that surprise is the only way to chase the Nargles away sometimes.

"Hm, hello. Who're you?" She was shy, that was for sure, but I knew we would be friends. Maybe she could even help me search for Crumple-Horned Snorkack?

"I'm Luna" I said, extending my hand to the other girl. She must have been more affected by the Nargles than I thought since she just kept staring at it.

"Ya know, you're supposed to shake it. My mum says it's what proper people do"

"What does proper mean?"

"Don't know" I answered cheerfully as I shook her hand. "So, do you want to come with me search for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack?"

"The what?"

"The Crumple Horned Snorkack. They're magical creatures that live kinda everywhere. Course, they still haven't been found, but I and father are sure we'll find them one day. So, wanna join?"

I could see she was interested, but something was holding her back. She probably had to stay here, but she was looking so alone that I knew she would come.

"Come on! We'll have fun and then my mother'll give us cookies when we get home. She'll tell your parents you're with me too!"

"Really?"

"'Course!"

She smiled brightly and I knew we would be great friends. She got up and followed me near the pond.

"So what's your name?"

"I'm Ginny"

"Okay Gin'. Let's be friends then!" And as the sun shone brightly above us, I thought that having friends was good.


	2. My Crush

This OS is written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp : n°35 purple, The If You Dare Challenge: n°30 the full moon, the Favorite character Boot Camp: n°13 midnight, the Langlock Spell in The Harry Potter Spell Competition and Miss Leaky Cauldron (Luna Lovegood).

Enjoy, and please review :)

**My Crush**

The first time I saw the one I know love alone, I immediately knew it was him. The right one you know. It was obvious, and I still wonder to this day how it took me so long to see it. It wasn't our first meeting you see, not even our second or third. Honestly we had already met so many times I couldn't tell you what number it was.

My mother had told me when I was young that finding the right man wouldn't be easy but that I would know him when I saw him. I didn't find it so hard, but it took some time to really recognize him.

Nowadays, people often ask me how I actually managed to catch myself Harry Potter. Of course, I answer that I didn't 'catch him', I just found him – or maybe he found me. No, I think we found each other. And then I tell them that it was all thanks to the Nargles. They nudged me in the right direction, as always.

It was midnight, but I wasn't tired. Plus it was a full moon and everyone knows full moons are the perfect time to see Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. Add to that the fact that it was midnight and the conditions were absolutely perfects.

I never tried to look in the castle for these creatures, and I'm sure my father never thought to check here. And if that didn't work, there was always the Forest. I met him in the corridors. It was dark – of course that never bothered me before, I have a very good vision, especially in the dark – and we collided. I was a bit confused at first, since he was invisible, but then I saw feet and a hand and I knew what happened.

It was obviously an Invisibility Cloak. The Quibbler had written an article on those a few months ago, and I knew everything about the rebellions of the Demiguises and the use of their fur by some wizards to try to go through the Veil. Of course, that information had been hidden by the Ministry who would never admit that some of their own Unspeakables had been stupid enough to try to become immortals.

I told him he could take of his cloak, since I knew who he was and we were obviously alone so there was no need to hide.

Harry took of his cloak – I knew it was him from the moment I noticed the cloak. He had told me once that he had inherited one from his father and I knew he was the only one in Hogwarts who would have such a cloak. It was really interesting; because I had noticed the first time he showed it to me that his cloak protected people from the Nargles and Wrackspurts. He had told me he would try to find a spell that could affect them too – well I had told him to try and it was nice of him to do so.

Anyway, back to our meeting – it is obvious I'm not protected from the Wrackspurts I think. Perhaps I should ask Harry to resume our search for the solution or a protection from these creatures. Maybe a way to get them visible. Yes, that would probably help since most people only believed in what they saw. Quite stupid really.

I told you I knew immediately it was him and that it was obvious. I'm sure you all wonder why. I shall tell you now. The Nargles are telling me it has now been long enough…

You see, apparently earlier that day he had been the victim of a prank from the Weasleys twins and now his hair, instead of ink black, was purple. Of course, purple is a strange hair color but I'm not one to criticize choices. If he liked this color, well that was good.

Especially for me, since I knew that purple was the Crumple-Horned Snorkack's favorite color. It attracted them. Also, he had a lightning bolt's scar and though that fact was very well known, the fact that the creatures I was looking for loved storms was not. Unfortunately it wasn't a stormy night at the time, because then I'm sure I would have found the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.

He seemed a bit surprised at my enthusiasm when I saw his violet hair but since he wasn't really doing anything he agreed to come with me to search for the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. Of course it took some convincing – namely the help of the Nargles. They always provided so many interesting arguments to defend myself when I asked them and sometimes could be very helpful. It was one of those days I suppose.

Anyway it was when he accepted to search with me that I knew he was the one. It may seem a bit stupid or even cliché but I knew at that moment that I wanted him.

He had always been kind with me, especially when others were not – thinking me mad, really. They were the mad ones. How couldn't they see that their actions were influenced by manipulating creatures? I mean, how many times did I hear that they didn't know why they did this or that or said this instead of that? An obvious sign that Nargles and Wrackspurts existed!

He always helped me finding the stuff the Nargles hid from me – they thought it was funny. I didn't. For some reason I can't understand, he's convinced that it was other students who hid my stuff from me… Maybe they did, but that didn't mean the Nargles weren't doing it too.

So he's nice – my mother always told me that I had to find a nice man, because mean ones were… well, mean – and good-looking though. I don't really care about that really, since he already attracts Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and have means to protect himself from the Wrackspurts, but it certainly is interesting.

Of course, there's the slight problem of the dark Lord after his hide, but I don't really care about that. He survived until now and I know he's got potential. Also, he has something that Dark Lord has not.

He knows the Nargles exist. And that will help him…


	3. Winter Day

This drabble is written for the One Character Competition on the HPFC for the prompts: snow, shiver, hot chocolate, gingerbread, silver, mittens and freezing.

_Word count:_ 205

**Winter Day**

Luna was sitting on a bench in front of the frozen lake. From where he was, Harry could see her shivering in the freezing December air. She was wearing the most unusual yellow and green scarf, a purple and silver cap – the first color protected from the Nargles apparently, as did her radish earrings, the second just looked nice – and an electric blue coat.

On anybody else, Harry would have found this horrible, but on her it was strangely tasteful, enhancing the calm beauty of the blonde girl.

As he went to sit next to her, the only sound that could be heard was the one his feet made when grating on the fresh snow. He wiped the other side of the stone bench clean and sat in silence next to the girl he loved, offering her the second cup of hot chocolate he had brought with him.

She took it carefully and blew slowly on it, watching with a quiet smile the wisps of steam such an action created. It was then he noticed the small mittens she wore. They were a fiery red, with brown gingerbread figures on top.

She may be strange, but he wouldn't have her any other way.


	4. Sadness

Drabble written for the Make Me Cry in 2,000 Words or Less Challenge for the prompts plaid pattern quilt and foul potions, the Harry Potter Spell Competition (Reparo: repairing a broken heart) and the Favorite Character Boot Camp (prompt 2: death).

**Sadness**

Luna felt sad. She was always sad these days, ever since her mother had gone to the angels. Well it was what her father said but she could see the tears in his eyes when he said that. Why would he be sad if her mother was in a happier place? To Luna's young mind it could only mean one thing: her father wanted to spare her some pain.

Her mother had always told her that she was a clever girl, a unique girl and that meant she wasn't fooled by her father's attempt. She had been there after all and she remembered the way one of the foul potions her mother had been working on had exploded. A strong blast had knocked her out and when she awoke she had seen her father screaming – she couldn't hear him – and through half-closed eyes she had seen her mother lying unmoving on the ground.

There was no blood and she remembered thinking her mother was sleeping. After all, she had been so why wouldn't her mother be too? Her father had told her the Nargles had decided to bring her mother, Selene, to a better world for her, a world with angels.

She had asked her father why she couldn't go to this angels' world but he had only cried and he hadn't said anything since.

He was in his room now but it was time to eat and he wasn't coming down.

"Daddy, can I come in?" Luna said knocking softly on his door. She remembered coming here after nightmares to see her mother, or when there were storms. She would always make her a big mug of hot chocolate and tell her that lightning and thunder were only the means for the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks to find each other.

There was no response from the other side of the door, but the little blonde girl decided to enter nonetheless.

He was there, on the bed sitting on a plaid pattern quilt and looking through the window. The sun was shining and Luna suddenly felt that it was very unfair. She climbed on it and hugged her father from the side. He patted her head with one head absentmindedly and smiled through unshed tears at her.

"Hey daddy, are you alright?"

"Of course I am darling"

He wasn't: that much was obvious. She knew exactly what to do. "The Nargles says Mum has found the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. Is that true?"

He gave her a half-chocked laugh before he answered. "Yes, yes that's true. She's with the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks honey"

"Then why don't we search for them? That way when we find them we'll see mom again"

She smiled at him innocently and he hugged her a little closer. If his tears were forgotten, this doesn't mean that the father and his daughter moved and ate that day. They just sat there, looking at the sun and the too blue sky.


	5. We'll Find The Snorkacks

This OS is written for the One Character Competition (round 2: write over 500 words on an emotion that should not be mentioned) and the Expecto Patronum Spell on the Harry Potter Spell Competition. Both Competitions can be found on the HPFC.

Please review!

**We'll Find The Snorkacks**

The sun was high in the sky, no clouds were in sight and only a small breeze came to lightly counterbalance the hotness of the day. All in all it was almost perfect.

Had there been no Nargles, everything would have been. Anyway, her father had planned these holidays for a long while now, and after their unfortunate failure to find the Crumple-Horned Snorkack last summer in Holland, Luna was sure this would be the year they'd succeed.

Earlier, her father had heard from one of his contacts about a legend in the north of Spain. According to the old man Ali – her father contact – had interviewed, there was a creature living in the hidden and forbidden woods called by the locals Bosque Perdido.

Encouraged by her faithful friends – though sometimes a bit too mischievous - Luna had researched the meaning of those words. Apparently the locals weren't very imaginative, because Bosque Perdido literally meant 'lost forest'.

Anyway, this creature, last seen by that old man great-grandfather who had written a very detailed description of it, apparently had two twisted horns, a strange reddish color and had been seen in a stormy night.

Of course, everyone involved, especially that old man's great-grandfather, conveniently forgot to mention that alcohol had been plentiful that night and that the family had loved smoking their own herbs…

Anyway, as soon as he had heard this story, Luna's father had known it was their day, that the time the Lovegood would finally accomplish their dreams had come. He had immediately sent a letter to his daughter telling her he was organizing a lengthy trip to Spain for their next holidays, so that they would rediscover that lost forest – yes, Mr. Lovegood held no doubt in his fabulous detective's abilities.

The end of the year had then passed in what seemed like a flash to the young witch, which brought us to this nearly perfect day.

The Portkey was scheduled to leave in just under an hour, and Luna felt that everything would be perfect. The weather was perfect, and from what the Nargles told her, they would have a storm in Spain in just a few days. Since they were staying there a whole month, there shouldn't be any problems to find the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.

Her father was nearly ready. He only had to go feed the fishes that lived in the pond – because there were fished in that pond, they just were invisible. Xenophilius and Luna were always trying to find the right combination of nutrients to make them visible but they had had no such luck yet… Well, there was always another day to try.

Luna could almost feel the Portkey vibrating in her hand, screaming 'let's go, today's the day!'. Of course she knew that those words were only coming from the Wrackspurts who kept trying to infiltrate her thoughts. Or perhaps it was the whispers coming from the soft wind.

Anyway, for once she knew those whispers were true. The little blonde girl could feel it in her bones, this strange feeling of elation that warmed her heart and filled her with a new energy, that these holidays would be when they finally discovered the animal their family had looked for for so long.

She could already see what would happen. Finding the Bosque Perdido would be easy, what with the help she would receive from the Nargles, those helpful little creatures who always helped her when she asked for it (they also played tricks when she didn't, which meant she had to beware of what to ask).

She knew a storm would happen – she didn't need Nargles to tell her that, though their help was appreciated. After all it was the middle of summer and after long days where the air warmed under the sun, a storm with heavy rain would come to cool everything down.

She could picture herself and her father standing in a small clearing, under the light intermittently coming from lightning strikes – they wouldn't dare use their wands in such an unknown territory – soaked with rain as they saw the creatures just in front of them, like an apparition.

All these images were like dancing in front of her eyes, giving them a sparkling and dreamy look. A smile graced her lips as she twirled again and again, laughing while calling for her father to hurry.

This was their chance, and as they grasped the Portkey to leave their home, she knew everything would work out.

* * *

**Note: **The emotion I chose was hopeful. I hope you realized it ;)


	6. Luna Induced Confusion

Drabble written for Cheeky Slytherin Lass's Weekly Drabble Challenge (Luna Lovegood, prompt 1) on the HP Drabbles fanatics Forum and for The Harry Potter Spells Competition, for the spell Confundo (Causes the victim to become confused. Write about one of our characters confused) on the HPFC.

_Word count:_211

Have fun, and please review :)

**Luna Induced Confusion**

Harry was confused. Like really confused.

"Luna, didn't you tell me this was red?"

"Of course." The blonde girl stared at him unblinkingly and Harry felt like an idiot for even thinking of asking. And then he actually understood what she had said.

"But it's blue now? How is that possible?"

"Well obviously it changed its color."

"How could a tree change its own color? For that matter, why was there a red tree in the first place?"

"Well it wanted to be different…"

Harry opened and closed his mouth like a dying fish. He realized he must look stupid, but this was just too much for him, to see the way she looked so convinced that the tree had decided to paint itself red and then blue just because it wanted to be different.

"Maybe it was the Nargles though. They like to do that kind of things. I thought I told you that Harry."

Yeah, it must have been the Nargles… He sighed and remembered the days he wondered how to describe Luna. He had never quite been able to find the right word for her, but now… he had.

She was confusing. Should he use only one word for her, it would be this one.


	7. Lateness

Still for Cheeky's Drabble challenge… On the same site (prompt 2: late) but also for Lady Phoenix Fire Rose, in The Twelve Days of Christmas Challenge.

Please review!

_Word count:_96

**Lateness**

"You're late."

"So are you," she said smiling. "But don't worry, I know the Nargles delayed you."

Harry shook his head, forever amused by his girlfriend's antics.

"What's your excuse then?"

"I don't need one, I'm a girl. But you, mister, have yet to be forgiven for your lateness…"

"Because I have to be forgiven?"

"Of course. You're not a girl."

"So what should I do?"

"Well you could kiss me… That would be a good beginning Mr. Potter."

"Your orders are my desires."

Her laugh was soon quieted as he obeyed his lady's orders.


	8. Miracles?

Still for Cheeky :p

Please review!

_Word Count:_140

**Miracles?**

Luna picked up the small creature she had found lying in the Forbidden Forest – not that this kind of thing bothered her, she only went to the safe places – and carefully dusted it off.

It was a young Bowtruckle, and from what she could see it had been hurt, probably by an hurried Potion Master in need of ingredients.

Its big brown eyes looked painfully at her and she smiled softly.

"Don't worry I'll help you get better."

She didn't look at its eyes, knowing already that it was trying to convey that there was nothing she could do to help.

It was wrong of course. Two weeks later, Luna brought it back into the Forest and it was fully healed and prepared to guard its own tree.

Others called it a miracle, but Luna just thanked the Nargles.


	9. Broken Mirror

Did I mention that I was writing drabbles for Cheeky?

_Word count: _189

**Broken Mirror**

It was her first year at Hogwarts, and she was busy exploring. She had heard fantastic tales of all the creatures living in the castle, and she had already noticed the formidable concentration of Nargles and Wrackspurts. She hoped to find other things too, however.

Which was how she found herself in front of that old mirror.

Giggling, she twirled around it. "A mysterious mirror! How fantastic! Do you think it talks?" It was a well-known fact that mirrors talked in a wizarding Household and so it was normal for the young Luna to wonder if that one did too.

Someone, or something must have answered her, because she stopped in front of it. However she frowned as soon as she looked more carefully at it.

"It's broken. That's too sad."

Since it wasn't interesting anymore, she skipped out of the room, humming a sound only she could hear. She left an old broken mirror behind, the words _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_ written on the top glowing faintly for the last time as for the first time its duty was not fulfilled.


	10. Happy Days

Written for Cheeky's One Character Competition, Round 3 using the prompts try, butterfly, yellow, pretend, mess and pretty.

_Word count:_238

**Happy Days**

"Luna, come back here!"

The little blonde haired girl laughed and twirled, carefree, her white and yellow dress spinning with her as she chased after a particularly colored butterfly.

"But mum, it's pretty!"

"I know darling, but I'd rather have you stay closer to me and your father. We don't want you to get hurt and for you to be too far for us to help you now, do we?"

Pretending to think about it for a few seconds with that cute little pout of hers, Luna nodded seriously and ran back toward her parents, jumping in her father's arms.

After playing the Hippogriff's game – meaning he had to pretend he could make her fly – Xenophilius set her back on the ground, all of this under the false-disapproval of his wife who was trying to conceal her smile with a glare at him for taking such risk with their young daughter.

"Now Luna, what do you say about a small picnic before we try to catch a few of these butterflies?"

"Yes, yes!" Luna exclaimed joyfully, clapping her hands and smiling wildly, showing her toothless smile – she was missing at least three of those after all. She grabbed her parents' hands and proceeded to drag them to the perfect place she had spotted earlier.

Said parents shared a smile over their little daughter's head before following her indulgently, their food following them in an organized mess.


	11. There's No End

This drabble was written for Cheeky's Weekly Drabble Competition on the HPFC, for the level Easy: Write about a canon parent and child.

_Word count:_171

**There's No End**

"Mum, can I ask you something?"

Selene stopped brushing her daughter's hair and answered.

"Of course you can Luna. What's on your mind?"

"Daddy told me we'd be going to look for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack this summer. Do you think we'll find any?" Luna's bright blue eyes were truly worried but Selene couldn't help but smile. This activity was so typical of her husband…

"Whether you do or not, I'm sure you'll have fun dear."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Your father and I did this kind of search for undiscovered creatures often you know. It made us discover the most wonderful places and people. I'm sure you'll love it, and your father will be with you every minute of it."

As if on cue, Xenophilius' voice came from downstairs, calling for dinner. The little blonde girl shared a last glance and secret promise to come back with her mother before she left the room, leaving it as empty as it had been when she entered it.


	12. Nostalgia

Drabble written for the One Character Competition, where I had to use the prompts pillow, pick, playful, parchment, pale, private and panic.

_Word count:_345

**Nostalgia**

It was a Monday morning and Luna only had half an hour left before she had to get to class and she was still trying to gather all of her stuff which had mysteriously disappeared during the week end. It was something the playful Nargles loved to do, hiding the stuff she needed.

"Don't panic Luna, this spare parchment has to be somewhere…"

It wasn't that she needed it, per say, it was more like she wanted it back. It was the last thing she needed to get back. The Nargles were being quite nasty this year and they were even trying to frame her roommates. Of course Luna wasn't stupid: she knew when she found her favorite necklace under a pillow that wasn't hers that her roommate wasn't to blame and that the Nargles were trying to make her accuse them.

Her pale blonde hair glistered in the early sunlight as she bent to pick up from the ground a discarded photo. She had hoped hiding this in her Potion's book – the only one who never was touched – would prevent it from being stolen, but it obviously hadn't been a private enough place.

She was on that photography, but her mother was on it too, holding her proudly as little Luna showed the butterfly she had captured with delight.

Putting it carefully on her bed, she retrieved the blank parchment she could now see from under her bed and tucked it in her bag. She plopped down on her bed and stared at the photography, searching perhaps the answer to her current Nargles' problem. Her mother would have known what to do.

She didn't notice time flowing by, and before she knew it, it was time for her to go to Charms. For the first time she wished she could just not go and stay in her room – and Charms was her favorite subject.

Casting one last fond glance at her photography, she put it back in her Potions' book – it would have to do for now – before she exited the room, sighing.


	13. Different Is Good

Drabble written for Cheeky Weekly Drabble Challenge (prompt: makeup), the Favorite Character Boot Camp (Luna Lovegood, Make-up) and the If You Dare Challenge (prompt 298: starry night).

_Word count:_277

**Different Is Good**

Luna doesn't wear makeup. Wearing makeup would mean that like everyone else, like every other girl in the school, she had had someone to teach her how to put it on.

But Luna hadn't. So she didn't. What was the point, anyway? There was no need for her to hide who she was behind eye shadows, lipsticks or mascara. No one to impress, no mother to imitate.

She would never hear the words: "What have you done Luna?" as she showed up with more make-up than a clown in front of her mother. Unlike her classmate she would never hear her mother laugh ever again as she tried to correct her mistake and teach her the right way to put just a hint of pink on her cheeks.

She had promised it to herself – to never forget that she was different, because unlike her Housemates, she knew that different was good – because she didn't want to become someone she was not.

So what if her imperfections were out in the open? What did it change? How did it make her uglier than the girl who put so much make-up she didn't look like a girl anymore?

Sometimes, when she looked to the sky on a particularly starry night and remembered how her mother smiled, she liked to think Selene would approve of her choices.


	14. Death be not proud

_Drabble written for Cheeky's Weekly Drabble Competition, level Medium (write about Luna (yeah I know, this one was made for me, so thanks :p), prompt: sand), the Key Signature Competition (C minor), the Magical Object Competition (Pensieve), the Harry Potter Spell Competition (Alohomora), the Not For The Faint of Heart Competition, Operation Grim Reaper, Drabble, the Dark Side Competition (Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem), the As Strong As We Are United Competition (prompts darkness and loss)._

_The two first lines in italics are from John Donne poem's Death._

_Word count: __326_

_**Death be not proud**_

_"Death be not proud, though some have called thee _

_Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so."_

The first time there was a storm after her mother died; Luna didn't know what to do. She could still remember how Selene always came to hold her at the first sign of rain at night and how it felt to be safe in her mother's arms. Her father always had a sleep too deep for him to wake when she had a nightmare, so it always was her mother who came.

When thunder rang and lightning illuminated the night, breaking through the darkness and bringing forth all those terrifying monsters she could just see hidden in her room, Luna dived under the covers and hugged herself, pretending her mother was there with her.

She could almost hear her voice, saying that everything would be alright. But she wasn't there and Luna was alone. Her mother's loss never hit her as deeply as it did then, and she cried for the first time since she had learned that her mother had left them.

Perhaps if she tried, if she closed her eyes, she could found the place she took refuge when she was too scared – the place her mother had taught her how to find (_'when I'm scarred, or when life just becomes too hard, you know what I do? I go to my little refuge. It's beautiful there, a sunny beach with sparkling sand. My perfect place, you see? Now, find yours sweetie. You'll be safe from everything there,' s_he had said).

Luna's sanctuary had been a beautiful forest before, but now as she inhaled deeply as her mother had taught her, she could nearly smell sunlight and sand, with a hint of salt water.

She closed her eyes, and soon enough she was asleep. She'd only notice it when she'd wake up under the sunlight the next morning, but for now she was hugging her covers close – almost like it was a person.

Maybe she could get through this.


	15. Of Bedtimes Stories In The Afternoon

Drabble written for the One Character Competition (prompts: new, frown, bloom, pause, busy, blood, sometimes and meaningful), the Double or Nothing Competition (400 words), the As Strong As We Are United Competition (prompt: cat).

_Word count: _394

**Of Bedtimes Stories In The Afternoon**

"Daddy, daddy, I found a new books of stories! Look, Ginny gave it to me!"

"Not now Luna, I'm busy. But I'll help you later, I swear."

"But I want you to read me a story now," a seven year-old Luna pouted, her eyes wide open. "Pretty pretty please?"

Xenophilius frowned, but Luna was pleased to see he had at least paused in his work.

"Why don't you ask your mother? I'm sure she'll be happy to help you with this."

"But it's you I want daddy! I love it when you make the noises when you read, and you always manage to do the best voices! Come on, please read me a story…"

Luna was pleading by now, but she didn't care. She could see that her pleading was getting through.

"Alright, but a small one then."

"Yay! You're so _cool _daddy, you're the best father in the whole world! I'm sure everyone's jealous of how great you are, and Ginny will be too when I tell her you read me a story from her book…"

While he was getting dragged to his daughter's bedroom, Xenophilius took advantage of the moment when Luna had to breath to ask her what was the story he was supposed to read her about.

"It's about a cat that becomes a man. Ginny's told me the story's great!"

"Why are we going to your bedroom anyway? I could have read this to you in the living-room you know."

Luna looked at him so seriously he had to fight back a smile so as to not offend her, but the way she said her next words were almost too much to keep the laughter that had begun to bloom in his chest inside.

"Mum said I'm a little girl still and that little girls have to take naps. So I'm taking a nap, but I want a story before cause I'm not feeling tired at all."

"Well if your mum said it then I'll have to comply."

"Yes. But now read me my story," she ordered in a commanding tone as she slipped under the blood-red covers of her bed – the color had been chosen to keep the Nargles and the Wrackspurts away while she slept.

With a chuckle, Xenophilius just did so. Because sometimes, there were things more meaningful than work.


	16. Of Life After Death

Written for the Harry Potter Spells Competition, Reenervate (write about the afterlife) and the As Strong As We Are United (raindrops).

_Word count:_ 245

**Of Life After Death**

There's this question that always come _**back**_

**A** L **W** A** Y** S

Even though you don't want it to _/don't. want. it/_

She _looks_ at you

With her bright blue eyes _(innocent and kind._

_**A child**__)_

And asks

'Mom, what's there after life?'

And you wish you could answer (something simple and true)

But you don't know what's **t.r.u.e** and what's _w.r.o.n.g_

So you say that it's like

The nap she takes after a long and hard day

When she's _tired_

You say it's for old people

_(or ones who already lived too much)_

And that they leave for some place

Better **(kinder).**

You say

'Luna, you see that star up there

High in the sky

_**Shining**_ oh so brighter than the others?

Well, it's all the souls of the one we _lost_

_(but not truly, never truly)_

And they're shining to tell us

That we'll meet them again.'

But now,

N  
**O**  
W

You feel life slowly dripping away

Like raindrops at the end of the storm

_**(or is it blood staining the floor?)**_

And you truly hope that what you said is

Somehow true (you _pray_, you _**pray**_ and you _**pray**_)

Because you're watching that blonde girl you

_L_.**O**._V_.**E** (she's your daughter, of course you do)

Cry for you.

Because if you were right

_(please let it be right)_

Then you'll see her again.

And maybe

_(just maybe)_

You'll get her to _**forgive**_ you for

**Letting** _her_ **go**…


	17. A Sunny Afternoon

Please review to tell me what you thought!

_Word count:_ 596

**A Sunny Afternoon**

Luna was standing in front of the Weasleys' house porch, her hand poised to knock. Her father was always saying she had to be polite when visiting other people, and that not being so would anger the protectors of the family – they were usually charming little creatures, always invisible to better watch the lives they had sworn to keep safe, but when angered they could be vicious.

She bit her lips, anxious. It was a very nice day after all. There was a lot of sunshine, and so perhaps Ginny wouldn't be here or wouldn't play with her. But her father was off working at the press, and she didn't want to stay alone.

Just as she was about to finally knock, the door opened.

"Luna? But what are you doing here?" Mrs. Weasley asked, surprised to see the small blonde girl.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Weasley. I wondered if Ginny was here…"

A flash of understanding passed through the kind woman's eyes, and she stepped aside.

"Of course, of course. But come in my dear, don't stay outside like that."

Luna entered, and followed Molly to the garden.

"Ginny! Guess who's there?"

At these words, a girl not much taller than Luna turned around, and a wide smile illuminated her face as she saw her blonde friend.

"Luna! You're here!" She said joyfully as she raced to greet her friend.

"Well, I guess I'll be leaving you now," Ginny's mother chuckled as she rubbed her hands against her dress. "Have fun, and don't go bother your brothers Ginny. I swear, that tree still hasn't recovered from the last time you five fought."

"We didn't fight mum! I just wanted to show Luna the newts, but Fred and Georges stopped us and then Ron came and they attacked us with mud – and that was really horrible!"

"Alright, alright, I get it. Now off you go, I'll call you when it's time for tea." With those words she left, leaving the two ten year-old alone.

"So, what do you want to do?"

Luna blinked at the sudden question. "I don't really know. What do you want to do?"

"That's not fair. I asked first, so it's you who should decide what we do."

"Well… We could always try to find the Crumple Horned Snorkacks," the blue-eyed girl suggested.

"It's not fun! We already did that last week," Ginny pouted.

Luna looked at the sky, and was forced to blink as the sun's light was almost blinding. From where she was, she could almost see her own home, but she also knew it was just an illusion from the heat. However, the solution came to her easily.

"Your mother said we would have tea, right? Do you think she made biscuits too?"

"If I think she did that? I know she did. I was there this morning, and let me tell you, they looked heavenly. But mum won't let us eat them now."

"It's fine. I don't want to eat them right now anyway. But I thought it could be nice to have some fruits to go with it."

"Oh? What do you have in mind?"

"I think I saw some cherry trees when I came here. They're not too far, and we could bring back a basket for your mother and even eat some on our way."

Immediately, Ginny's brown eyes widened and shone with a new light. She grabbed Luna's hand and proceeded to drag her toward the back shed, where she retrieved an used wicker basket.

"Come on Lu', I want those cherries!"

* * *

_This was written for: _

_-the One Character Competition, round 7 (prompts: Ginny Weasley and tea), _

_-the One-Shot a Day Competition, _

_-the As Strong As We Are United Competition (sunshine and joy), _

_-the Super Insane Prompt Challenge (2. Cherry), _

_-the HP Potions Competition (Gregory's Unctuous Unction: Write about best friends),_

_-the Gemstones Competition (Pearls: Write a story about a child (younger that Hogwarts-age) or about Luna Lovegood),_

_-the Key Signature Competition (G major)._


	18. Rain and Beginnings

_Word count:_ 309

**Rain and Beginnings**

"Hey, you're alright?"

Luna's gaze left the grey clouds she had been looking at and she focused on the wizard who had just talked to her.

"It's going to rain."

"Huh, and that's… great?" Dean blinked, confused by her answer.

The blonde smiled as she got up from the grass she had been lying on.

"It depends. The rain imps could try to ruin the wedding, and that wouldn't be very nice."

"The rain imps?"

"Yes. They hide in raindrops, and when the rain falls they make it so everything stays wet longer."

"Ah. I guess we better should warn them then?" He said as he gestured toward the group of happily laughing people gathered for the festivities.

"I don't know. I've always loved the rain, and I heard rain imps could be very nice."

"I thought they would ruin the wedding?"

"It's a hot day. A bit of rain won't do much harm, and we have magic. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who saw it."

"What?"

"That." And just as she said it, the sky seemed to open up, and rain fell. The world around them blurred, and he almost didn't feel a small hand slip into his.

"Come on," she said as she dragged him after her.

"Where to?"

"Anywhere," she answered with a smile.

And maybe she took him away from the crowd of people, from the friends who had invited him, and maybe she was dragging him a bit too fast, but in that moment he didn't care. He had never felt as free as he did running with no sense of direction after a girl – no, a woman – he had barely ever talked to before.

He hadn't felt such joy curse through his veins since the time he first did magic. But maybe he had just discovered another kind of magic.

* * *

_This was written for:_

_-the Super Insane Prompt Challenge (13. Luna)_

_-Cheeky's Weekly Drabble Competition, level Easy (write about a non-canon pairing)_

_-the Gemstones Competition (Opals: write about Romance)_

_-the As Strong As We Are United Competition (joy and raindrops)._


	19. Flowers on Your Tomb

_Word count:_216

**Flowers on Your Tomb**

**C**(like **cruel** and **cold**)

**R** (like the **reaper** who took her too soon)

**Y**(because she was too **young**)

**S** (for **sooner** than it was **supposed to** happen)

**A** (because she _leaves_ a daughter and a husband to **age** **alone**)

**N** (like the harsh **nothingness **her absence brings)

**T** (because the **table** has been wiped but Luna wishes she could see it **one more time** the way her mother hated to)

**H**(like the **home** their house isn't anymore)

**E** (like the **emptiness **that fills the living)

**M** (for the **moments** when Luna remembers her mother's smile)

**U** (for the **unjust** fact that it's all she remembers these days)

**M** (this one is for who she _was_, for who she is – her **mother**)

There are _chrysanthemums_ on her mother's tomb

_(his father brings them every days_

_But hush, he doesn't know she knows)_

The gesture is **nice**

It shows she's **re** mem **be** red

But all Luna can see is her mother's face saying she **hates** those 'flowers'

They made her **sad**

And Luna would do anything to keep her mother **happy**

So she steals them away _(a ghost in the night, hidden from sight)_

And draws _**(with charcoal – like her mum used to)**_

The imaginary creatures she _loved _**(loves now)**.

_**AN/ This drabble was written for:**_

_**-the 400 Fragrant Prompts Challenge, Day Five (chrysanthemum)**_

_**-the Colors Competition, Indigo I**_

_**-the Key Signature Competition, F Minor**_

_**-the As Strong As We Are United Competition (hidden)**_

_**-the Freeverse Competition.**_


	20. It's Life

_Word count:_ 596

**It's Life**

You don't understand why your mother isn't home yet. Your father tells you she's gone, but there's no way your mother would just leave _(even if it's for a place like heaven, wherever that is)_.

You stare through the window and you go to the pond _(you know she liked it – likes it)_ and you run through the woods, searching for her and answers you despair to finally find one day.

You see how your father looks at you _(it's pity, like he knows something you don't but he never tells)_ and you hear him cry. You want to say "Don't worry daddy, it'll be alright, mum will come home soon, you'll see." But somehow you know you're wrong.

'Lying is bad. You must never do that Luna, do you understand?' She used to say. And you answered sheepishly 'Yes mum.' Before she tickled you and acted like the whole thing was in the past.

Now you lie all the time to your daddy as he slowly becomes 'father' and you don't understand what he sees in this world, why he seems to think the government is scheming against everyone and what the creatures he used to spin fantastic tales about have to do with it.

There's something very wrong with this, with your father falling deeper and deeper, getting away from her a little bit more each day. But you say nothing and you pretend that it's real, that he's right _(you lie)_ because you really, really don't want to be alone. Your mum's still not there and your life is filled with chimeras.

"Father, when will mum get home?" You ask, still wondering (you never close your eyes then, because there's always this strange flash of pain, fire and screams if you do).

"She won't get home. She never will get home. Do you understand me Luna? Your mother's not coming home, ever, so stop bothering me with those questions!" He yells, but underneath you can hear his pain so you move away. Just in time to avoid the glass that smash against the wall, just where you were a second ago.

Alcohol drip slowly down the wall and your father cries that he's sorry and that he will never drink again of his life _(he never will)_ and 'oh-Merlin-are-you-alright-my-dear' but all you can hear is the deafening sound of glass breaking. You think that maybe that's the sound your heart is making right now as it breaks.

There are sounds and image trying to break through your mind just behind your eyes (_your blonde mother laughing just like any other day until she gasps and suddenly screams that horrible scream that haunts you ever since she disappeared)_ and then you know your answer.

"Father… Is mum dead?"

The broken wail is enough of an answer and you disappear in your bedroom. You don't cry though – if she's dead then you'll see her again one day.

(Years later you hear her voice through a grey veil. It's not as sweet as you thought it would be, but it still makes you yearn for that day you'll be able to see her again. You want to touch it, just in hope it will feel like her touch _(you've almost forgotten that)_

"Luna?" He sounds worried and you snap out of it. Harry always sounds worried, but he's nice and he's your friend so you still try not to worry him too much.

"Yes, I'm coming."

Maybe you're not seeing her right now, but knowing you will is just enough for you right now.)

**AN/**

**This was written for: **

** -the Colors Competition, Silver (positive)**

** -the If You Dare Challenge, 214 – Life Goes On**

** -the Legendary Creature Competition, Airavata**

** -the HP Potions Competition, Black Fire Potion**

** -the Hogwarts Classes Competition, Muggle Studies**

** -the Gemstone Competition, Adventurine**

** -the Philosopher's Stone Competition, Through The Trapdoor**

**Thanks to all of you for your reviews. You're all amazing!**


	21. let your smiles shine down on me

So yeah, this isn't exactly about Luna… But it's kind of a Luna/Neville, and I thought it'd fit in here, so I put in there…

Enjoy.

_Word count:_557

**let your smiles shine down on me**

Sometimes, when you can't sleep you go to your window and you look to the sky, tracing figures in the stars. You tell yourself, 'here's mom, and just next to her, smiling at me is dad'. It's a bit like they're your guardian angels and you close your eyes and you dream they are with you.

_(except they're not, at least not where it matters. Maybe once they were, once, but now they're all vacant smiles and meaningless chatter._

_It drives you mad.)_

In your dreams, she makes you pancakes, and she always tells you how wonderful you are. You're her little wonder, as she calls you and you can do no wrong. She's all warm embraces and kind words.

_(truth is, her hands are cold and her eyes always empty)_

Your father teaches you how to be a true man, how to stand up for yourself and for others, how to use a broom and to be a real wizard. He's not always nice and sometimes comes as a bit rough, but his words light a different kind of fire inside of you, and it makes you thrive toward something you cannot touch.

_(but he never said a single word to you)_

It's only a dream though, and when you wake up you're always alone, and the stars are gone, and the kind smiles you thought you could see disappear like mist in the morning.

It's terrible, because in that world they are everything you want them to be, and you are everything you want to become.

_(everything you are not)_

It's not real though. You know it, and it hurts because it feels like the only one you're living up to are imaginary people, parents you dreamed up because the ones you have are lacking.

_(it's a cruel deception)_

Then you leave for Hogwarts, and you realize that maybe you're not the only one living with ghosts, living for people who aren't there.

There's this tiny little blonde girl, who lives with her head in the stars and feet on a ground only she can see, and she's different.

_('My name's Luna. Did you know you were infested with Wrackspurts?')_

Her mother's dead – yours doesn't know you.

Her father talks too much – yours hasn't talked in twelve years.

But she gets you, somehow, and you get her. It's like you're both lonely broken people with fragile dreams bigger than they are, but together you become more. There's like a bond between the two of you, and you don't even notice you've abandoned the stars until your grandmother tells you it's been a while since she found you at your window.

Somehow she freed you, and your dreams don't seem so unreachable anymore.

_(you stand up to others, you fight for your freedom and what is right, you make friends and you become a man – and she's there all along the way)_

Maybe you can finally do what you've always wanted in the end, and maybe you don't need your parents for that. Perhaps to become yourself you just needed to be set free.

_(high in the sky at night the stars shine, and it looks like they smile down on you.)_

'Mom, dad, I really wish I could make you proud of me.'

_('we already are', they say)_

**AN/**

**This was written for:**

** -the Wishful Thinking Competition, Round 1 (I wish I could makes them proud of me)**

** -Anna Cahill.**


	22. Training Duels

_Word count:_868

**Training Duels**

"Are you sure this is a good idea Luna?" Ginny asked as they both entered the Room of Requirement.

The room had taken the same form it had had two years ago, when Harry had first created the DA, except for the large windows – reinforced, of course – that let the beautiful sunrise of an early September morning. With it, Luna almost had the feeling she had gone back in time, back when their only problem was Umbridge and the lack of proper Defense lessons.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"I'm not saying it isn't, Luna, it's just…"

She knew that her friend was thinking of their first meetings, back when they were still so young and didn't have anything else to worry about than what they would wear the next day and who would play the explorer in their next game. It had to be hard for her to leave that state of mind behind, especially when she hadn't really experienced loss before – and she wished she never had to, because Luna could still remember how much it had hurt to lose her mother.

"You know, sometimes when you can't talk it's because you're not meant to," said Luna, her lost ahead of them as she stared into the Forbidden Forest they could see through the glistening glass, "of course, it might also be because you've been infected by Wrackspurts. Are you feeling alright?"

She had added the last part worriedly, but Ginny smiled at her. It was good to see that despite Hogwarts being invaded by those horrible Death Eaters, her eccentric friend hadn't changed a bit.

"Of course I do, don't worry." She hesitated, but then seemed to decide that trying one last time to change Luna's mind wouldn't make her a coward.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait for us to reenact the DA before we start dueling?"

The blonde witch nodded confidently. "Yes. My father says that the Ministry has been overthrown, which means Voldemort has the control of their army of Heliopaths. We need to know how to defend ourselves, you see."

"Alright, alright. If you're sure, I'll help you," said Ginny, fighting back a smile.

Luna didn't answer and instead walked to the middle of the room, which had clearly been created for the sole purpose of duels, seeing as the nearby walls were all padded and as the room had provided them with a platform and mannequins to shoot spells at.

Sighing, Ginny joined her at the center of the room. It was clear she wished she could still be asleep – it was only a Saturday after all – but that she also knew that knowing how to truly defend herself was important, and even more now that they could only rely on themselves.

Soon, they were exchanging spells, running over broken furniture half transformed or exploded, since Ginny's _Reducto_ was apparently still a bit out of control when she fought. It would be useful in a real battle, but in a mock fight against a friend like this one was, it was more dangerous than anything else.

Luna looked weirdly at her place in the mess that had become of the room, and while Ginny was beginning to get out of breath, Luna seemed fresh as ever, if not for the slight frown on her face.

"How come you're not even tired?" Ginny panted as they took a break.

Luna estimated that they had around an hour left before they absolutely had to get back to their Common Rooms as it was still quite early, and they didn't want to get too tired. They still had a lot to plan with Neville after all.

Perhaps they should invite him to these early morning sessions if they became a habit after all. It would certainly be useful for all of them to know how the other fought. Maybe they could even make it a part of the DA.

"I've often had to wake up early. You know, the Crumple-Horned Snorkack isn't an easy creature to find, and some of the places we've had to look were hard to access," she finally answered.

"Well, it's unfair."

Luna tilted her head but didn't answer. What should she say anyway? Finding the right words would be impossible, and anyway she had offered Ginny to accompany her and her father on their holidays' hunts for years. It wasn't her fault the redhead had never accepted.

"We should get back to it. I've heard your Bat-Bogey hex could chase the Nargles away from someone, even after they were infected. Do you think it's true?"

There was a smirk on Ginny's lips as they moved back to the dueling area this time, and the mood seemed lighter behind them as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky.

Perhaps they would be able to make this work after all. Perhaps they would be able to protect Hogwarts even with Harry gone and Death Eaters invading the school.

As their spells ricocheted against hastily raised shields or floating objects Luna found herself thinking fiercely that they would do their very best to save their family and friends, and to protect anyone who would need it.

**AN/**

**This was written for the Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry Challenge/Competition, DADA (Early, September, Horrible, Maybe, Friends, family, witch, year, impossible, never, Saturday).**


	23. we all have different reasons for forget

_Word count:_ 2049

**we all have different reasons for forgetting to breathe**

"_I'm gonna pick up the pieces_

_And build a lego house_

_If things go wrong_

_We can knock it down"_

_Lego House – Ed Sheeran_

You know you shouldn't be here. You should be in your joke shop, creating and inventing and putting laughs in bottles for the empty days of depressed people.

_(thing is, how can you create laughs when you can't laugh yourself?)_

Well, Fred should be there with you, supporting you but then that would be fair, and when had life ever been fair? You shouldn't be alone, you should have your twin sitting next to you on the very same spot where he had once, when they had first arrived at Hogwarts, tried and failed to put a joke on you.

_('Hey George, look! Bill showed me this place, it's amazing. I'm sure you'll like it,' he had said with that smile that always looked too big for his head._

'_Really?' You had answered, half-interested only, because you had been thinking on playing a joke on the Slytherins and that required planning if you didn't want to get caught._

'_Yeah, and tell you what? I bet you you can't catch as many butterflies as I can!'_

_You had looked up and the magical sight had taken your breath away. Blue, green, yellow and red wings, fluttering softly in the warm breeze, flying over a grass way too green to be real and a lake sparkling like small sapphires._

_It had been a more than welcome pause in your studies, and in the end you had caught more than Fred, as well as masterfully avoided his tries to trip you into the lake._

_It had been a good day.)_

Since the Battle, you've come here every day, from the moment the sun comes up to the moment it finally comes down, hidden in this last piece of paradise, perhaps the only one untouched by the war. If you close your eyes, you can even see yourself and a younger Fred laughing as he chases a particularly beautiful butterfly toward the lake and slips on a patch of mud and into the water.

Today is a day like any other. Everything looks the same as it used to be. The water still sparkles like a thousand sapphires under the warm light of the sun, the grass is still as unearthly green as it is in your memories, and around you there is the same fluttering of wings as there was each time you came here to plot with Fred.

Only everything feels tarnished somewhat. What used to glitter so calmly now seems dull, and what once was a soft breeze almost feels like a cutting wind.

_(or perhaps that's just your mind expressing grief)_

And today, today your sanctuary is broken. When you come in, someone is already there. For a moment you feel a burst of overwhelming hope, hope that it's him and that he came back for you – but that would be stupid, and it's also impossible.

_(Fred would never come back as a ghost, he told you so)_

But then you so the blonde hair and the flashy yellow dress, and you know exactly who is there.

It's Luna, and she's lying on the ground, her arms raised in the air for the small creatures flying there to land upon, and has she been standing she would have looked like one of those angels.

But she's lying and she almost looks like a statue, and yet she's so at her place in what you always described as your little piece of heaven _(only in your mind of course, it sounds way too sappy aloud)_ that you wonder why it's only the first time you see her there.

You sit next to her, your head resting on your knees and your arms wrapped around yourself like it would protect you from the world, protect you from the truth and you try to think of what Fred would have said.

Would he have seen the magic of the scene in front of your eyes, or would he have dismissed it as ordinary, or strange? Would he have laughed at the picture she gave, covered in multicolored creatures, or would he have made one of those terrible jokes he seemed to reserve just for this kind of occasion?

For the first time you don't know, and you feel a weird pang in your chest, like regret but stronger, and yet it doesn't hurt as much as your grief usually does.

You're silent and she's quiet, and the only sounds you can hear are the sounds of the butterflies leaving her one by one, their small wings fluttering one, twice and then many more as they fly away.

It's like a painting full of colors and forms, one of those where the more you look at it the simpler it becomes, the more sense it makes.

_(slowly what was a girl covered in butterflies becomes just a girl, and you can't help but feel like you just lost something)_

She looks at you with eyes that seems too big for her face, full of an innocence that shouldn't be here if you if your brother's words can be trusted _(and they can)_. You can't comprehend how a girl who saw the worse of life can still look so… normal, and for once you feel jealous.

You feel jealous that she can keep going on with her life while you're stuck behind, left on the side of the road you were meant to walk on with your other half _(the one who has been there since the beginning)_.

But then you remember that it's not because we hide our scars that they're not there. You see that she no longer wears the ridiculous jewelry she made herself, that jewelry she used to be mocked for and that was supposed to protect her from outside forces, from weird and invisible creatures.

It's small and it's there, and you wonder if her presence here is not as much an invasion of your privacy as another soul desperate for calm and loneliness, for beauty when they didn't see any for several years.

You've been used to silence and your own company for so long now, which really is your own fault because you've taken to avoiding everyone as much as possible, taking refuge here all day and then hiding in your small flat in Diagon Alley at night, that it comes as a surprise to you when you open your mouth and talk.

_(You thought your voice would be rough and that it would be hard to talk, but it really is not. Perhaps it's because you never quite seem to manage to realize that Fred is not beside you, ready to laugh and make a joke from anything you'd say. _

_Perhaps it's because you keep talking to him like he was still there.)_

"Why did you come here?"

Her light eyes snaps into focus and the difference is almost frightening. Just a second ago she looked like her head was in the clouds, but now that you've talked it's clear her mind is on you and your words.

It makes you wonder if she was always like this, or if this is just a recent development. You almost fear the answer, and that's why you'll never ask.

"I heard you needed company," she says like your presence in this place is common knowledge, like this place you've always known to be empty of human life was actually known of everyone in the castle.

"Now who could have told you that?"

"Why, the Nargles of course." Her answer falls so naturally out of her mouth, like the existence of those Nargles is a fact more than a fantasy, that you nearly smile.

_(Nearly, because then you think that Fred would really have liked to know her. You remember that Fred had thought her interesting when you had first met her._

_So had you of course, but then you still think of her that way.)_

"Do they say anything else that I would find interesting then?"

She looks at you with a weird emotion in her eyes, and it's not until she talks that you figure out it was pity. Or maybe sympathy.

"They say that he's not coming back George. He's gone, and he's not coming back," she repeats, and this time she takes your hand in hers.

It's a gesture of support; you know it is because you've seen everyone do it around you when they got bad news. You never had anyone to do it, because despite the fact that you were surrounded by your family they didn't seem to understand that you felt like your heart and soul had been ripped in two, and that one half had died with him.

They lost a son and a brother that terrible day, but you lost so much more than that that you can't even begin to voice it.

You look into her eyes and you know she's not saying that to be mean or to force you to do anything like everyone else seem to be. She's not telling you you'll get over it, that you'll forget the pain and that one day it'll get better.

_(you don't want any of that, because if the pain leaves then what will you have left of him?)_

She's just telling you the truth and it hurts, but you can't get angry at her for that the way you snapped at your mother when she told you you'd feel better one day the way it had felt better for her when she had lost her brothers.

_(you're not sure you'd ever be able to get angry at her anyway, at least not when she's looking at you with those eyes that seem both too young and too old for her face)_

You grab back her hand and she tightens her hold just that little bit to tell you she's there. She leans against you, and the next time she talks the sun is almost down, just a patch of warm colors on the other side of the lake.

Her words are so soft you would have mistaken them for the wind had you not been desperately wishing to hear her again. She's company after all, and just like the nature around you she doesn't judge.

"When my mother died, I thought the world had died with her. I thought the world just had to die with her," she begins, and she's looking at something so far away you're not sure it even exists.

Her head moves and her hair tickles against your chin, but you feel like whatever she's about to tell you is something more important than anything you've ever learned. Perhaps it's because what she's saying is exactly what you're feeling, what you've been feeling for the last year.

"When I realized it didn't, I felt terrible. I even wished it had, because then I wouldn't be feeling anything, and we would be together."

"I wish the world would end too," you hear yourself say.

"No you don't," she answers you, and there's sympathy again in her eyes, and an emotion so deep you feel like someone is holding your heart too tightly. She's almost smiling, and you wish you knew how to paint because that scene right there in front of your eyes is something you wish you'd remember forever.

"No I don't," you whisper, and for the first time in months, there's a real smile on your lips.

_(the world hasn't ended and it won't, and as you look into Luna's eyes you know that even though Fred is gone, there are still some things for which you want to live) _

Her smile is as blinding as the sun disappearing behind her back, and it seems to tell you that you're on the edge of something beautiful. It could go wrong _(it probably will too)_, but it could also go oh so right.

_(you've always been one to go with the flow anyway, so you know you won't be able to resist this, whatever it becomes)_

And from the way this single day has gone, you feel it will go right.

**AN/**

**Once again, not much of Luna, and she is different from how I usually write her. I'm not sure what to think of this version of her, but I certainly liked writing George in this.**

**The title comes from Andrea Gibson, as I seemed to be unable to find a name for this. I thought it fit.**

**This was written for the:**

** -Fanon Pairings Competition, Round 1: George/Luna (word: butterfly, phrase: "he's not coming back, George.", color: blue, song: lego house by ed sheeran)**

** -As Strong As We Are United Competition (paint, sun, innocence)**

** -HP Potions Competition, Antidote to Uncommon Poisons**

** -The Legendary Gods and Goddesses Competition, Nephtys**

** -The Ultimate Side of Disney Movie Challenge, Bambi II**

** -Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry Challenge/Competition, Art (blue)**

** -Weasley-Potter-Prewett Category Challenge, George Weasley.**

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